PLÁCIDO DOMINGO: VERDI

Sony Classical88883733122

CD

You will probably have
your own view on whether
Plácido Domingo has made
a successful transition from
tenor to baritone – I think
not. We must, however,
consider the positives: the
tone remains distinctive
and burnished, the manner
stylish; yet with consistency
comes a homogenous
smoothness that soon becomes boring – every track
sounds
much the same. The Trovatore ‘Il balen’
is a good example. The
recitative gets off to a promising start, the
voice full and the
line sustained, but by the time we reach the aria
the tone is
inflated to provide a darker colour and the
cadenza shows both
the virtues and failings of the voice; the top is
easy but lacks a
true baritonal thrust, and as the line descends
it loses body and
falters, which seems to be a recurring problem.
The Orquestra
de la Comunitat Valanciana under Pablo
Heras-Casado provides
generalised and sometimes sluggish support.
Germont, Carlo,
Rigoletto, Macbeth, Posa … they all sound much
the same;
nice chaps, slightly anguished and lacking a
sense of purpose.
Ultimately, a boring album.